Tag: Bike Rental

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Riding

Exploring San Diego, Palm Springs, Joshua Tree National Park

Getting sent on a work trip to exhibit at a tradeshow can sometimes be a chore. But when the trip is to California, and there’s an opportunity to tag a few days’ holiday on the end, it can be a real bonus. So, after a busy week working the show in San Diego, I took the chance to rent a Harley Davidson from Eagle Rider and explore the surrounding areas of Palm Springs and the Joshua Tree National Park.

My plan was as follows:

  • Day 1: Pick up the Harley from Eagle Rider, San Diego, then head East to Mount Laguna, then work North to Borrego Springs, and spend the night in Palm  Springs.
  • Day 2: A loop through the Joshua Tree National Park, starting on the North side by Yucca Valley, then coming out on the South side. Finally, a pit stop at Sky Valley and return to Palm Springs for the night.
  • Day 3: From Palm Springs, heading South through Mount San Jacinto State Park and then back to San Diego to drop the bike off.
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Riding

2025 Plan: Harley Davidson Rental Exploring San Diego, Palm Springs, Joshua Tree

Harley Davidson Rental San Diego to Palm Springs

2024 has been a tough year for me and downright shit at times. I’m woefully overdue for some decent motorcycle therapy and a good adventure, something to look forward to and bring back some positivity and saddle time.

My work has roped me into doing a tradeshow in San Diego at the end of January. It’ll be a crazy few days, but it’s also the perfect opportunity to take a couple of extra days to rent a bike and explore more of California. The last time I had such a chance was way back in 2019, pre-covid when I rented a Yamaha Super Ténéré to explore Yosemite National Park, which all seems a lifetime ago.  It’s high time I booked another Californian biking adventure, a chance to explore the South of the state I’ve not ridden yet.

The decent folks at EagleRider had some great winter discounts on offer, though their San Diego shop only had Harley Davidson’s available to rent. Not my first choice of bike, but having done a couple of Harley Davidson rentals in the past, I know they can be a good laugh and are great for some chilled-out touring. I’ve gone for the Road Glide, a big bagger with fixed front fairing, as EagleRider had reduced all their Hogs to the same price, so no reason not to try one of the bigger models!

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Riding Videos

Motorcycle Trip to Yosemite on a Yamaha Super Ténéré

My planned visit to California to rent a Yamaha Super Ténéré from Eagle Rider and head inland to take a motorcycle trip to Yosemite National Park all went to plan without hitch. The weather was perfect, the snow stayed away and the Tiago Pass stayed open. Experiencing Yosemite off season at the end of October and riding the Tiago Pass on a weekday was probably a shrewd move to avoid the crowds and ride the roads at their quietest to enjoy the stunning scenery at it’s best. Below are some video highlights from my trip through Yosemite.

YouTube player

Read about my trip planning shenanigans that went into this mini adventure here. The second half of my mini tour took in Lake Tahoe and a return to San Francisco via Sacramento. Watch this space for highlights on this second leg.

You can download the full route and other top San Francisco motorcycle roads here.

 

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Featured Riding

Adventures Down Under, Motorcycle Rental MT09 in Brisbane, Part 2

Yamaha MT09 Brisbane Bunya Mountain

Continuing my Brisbane motorcycle rental adventure on a Yamaha MT09, for my second day I followed a route loosely based on this Rent This Bike blog post, an epic loop heading North West of Brisbane around lake Wivenhoe, taking in Mount Glorious, then North West over to Kingaroy, through Bunya Mountain and then back via Cooyar, Crows Nest and Esk. A substantial ride to do in one day at around 535 km, which left me minimal time to stop and explore along the route, before riding back into Brisbane after dark due to the early autumn nights. Definitely get out on the road early or consider stopping the night halfway for a more leisurely cruise.

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Riding

Adventures Down Under, Motorcycle Rental MT09 in Brisbane, Part 1

So when my boss turned around and asked if I could join him on a sales trip to a prospective customer in Brisbane Australia, I of course jumped at the opportunity. Sure, there was quite a lot of technical prep work setting up demo systems for presentations, the arduous sales meeting itself and the long flights (not business class sadly). But it did afford me a chance to grab a couple of free days to rent a motorcycle in Brisbane and explore some of Australia’s beautiful East Coast. Being my first visit to Australia, I was keen to see as much of it as I could cram into my time there.

Rent a motorcycle in Brisbane, AustraliaBrisbane Motorcycle Rental

For motorcycle rental, a quick Google revealed Eagle Rider had a shop in Brisbane, certainly tempting having rented from them previously in Sam Francisco. However, I also found the smaller local firm Rent This Bike, with a good choice of bikes and very competitive pricing. They were also more flexible on return times, affording me two full days of riding. I only had a Friday and Saturday free time and EagleRider close at 3 pm on Saturdays, whereas Rent This Bike was happy to accommodate pick up and drop-offs from 7 am to 7 pm any day.

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Videos

California Revisited – Exploring the Best San Francisco Motorcycle Roads on a Bonneville

Having rented big Hog’s on two prior work trips to San Jose, I opted for something a little different on my last visit. For this San Francisco motorcycle rental I went for a Triumph Bonneville T100 is perhaps an unlikely choice, but was surprisingly capable and comfortable to explore the Bay area from Santa Cruz up to to Petaluma in the North, whilst still being a lot of fun to fling round the bends. Check out the highlights from my weekend adventure to cruise the best San Francisco motorcycle roads.

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Motorcycles

San Francisco Motorcycle Rental at Dubbelju – Triumph Bonneville

Cruising the San Francisco motorcycle roads with Dubbelju

I wanted to try something a bit different which I could fling around the bends without grinding foot boards

June saw me back in California for another two week work trip in Silicon Valley, and again stuck out there over the weekend with nowt to do – what a drag. The last couple of trips I had a couple of Harley Davidson rentals, a Dyna 103 Low Rider and a Road King; so this time I wanted to try something a bit different which I could fling around the bends without grinding foot boards. This is when I found Dubbelju (pronounced double-you), who are also based in the Mission district of San Francisco, but offer a much wider selection of bikes, from adventure and touring to custom, cafe racers and street bikes. Read on for the full low down on my bike San Francisco motorcycle rental.

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Videos

California Dreaming – Harley Davidson Rental of Road King

Back in February I was posted out to California again for a three week work trip, spending time in San Jose and San Diego. During me free weekend I rented a Harley Davidson Road King from EagleRider similar to last September when I rented a Harley Dyna 103. Not my usual kind of bike, but certainly a good laugh and a great way to explore the Bay area, see the sights and occupy a weekend. Sit back and watch my antics on this San Francisco motorcycle rental.

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Motorcycles Riding

Harley Davidson Rental – Dyna 103 in California

Motorcycle Rental San Francisco - Harley Davidson Dyna 103
Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco

This month I was posted to San Jose for work, but unlike most work trips this one included a stay over the weekend. So, stuck on my tod in California I decided to book Harley Davidson rental bike to explore the area as it’s not often you get chance to cruise down the West Coast freeways on a big hog, definitely on many bikers bucket lists and too good a chance to miss. I went to EagleRider San Francisco motorcycle rental, who had a wide selection of Harley’s to choose from (but also have others). I initially booked a Sportster 1200, but due to unavailability was given a Dyna Low Rider 103 as an upgrade – nice one!

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